Sebastian Gunawan: Glitz and glamor for everyday divas

Sebastian
Gunawan is no pretender to the title "king of style". It's an honor he has
earned during a decade in fashion, defined by the sumptuous glamor of his
creations which have won many followers and created a new genre of
Indonesian fashion.

It was
thus wholly appropriate that his latest collection, marking the 10-year
milestone in his career, was called "glitz and glam".

"The
elements of glitter and glamor, when blended with elegant and feminine
designs, will eventually produce inexhaustible beauty," said Sebastian,
36.

At the
end of September, some 1,600 guests flocked to the Hotel Mulia Senayan in
Central Jakarta, with design legend Iwan Tirta and celebrities such as
singer Titi DJ among those taking the coveted front-row seats. His loyal
clients, fashion journalists and other assorted members of the local
fashionista had queued up to enter the ballroom and receive a souvenir --
a glossy, beautifully presented appointment book with pictures of his
creations.

From the
A-list guests to that attractive book and, of course, the designs, the
event was what the French would praise as a spectacle.

It opened
with models in blouses and skirts, dominated by black and white
embroidery, coming down an orange acrylic catwalk set against a black
background.

That wall
was pulled back to reveal a two-story set of windows, with the models
bathed in light and standing in each window wearing elegant long-sleeved
dresses. In its creativity and ingenuity, Jakarta
had seen nothing like it before.

The
ending was no less spectacular: five models, in all-white wedding gowns,
stood in the windows as the lights dimmed, creating a purplish haze. White
confetti showered down on them from the ceiling, the merging of the
festive and esthetic.

Stunning
openings and finales are all well and good, but it is what comes in
between -- the substance of the show -- that really matters.

Sebastian
did not disappoint with his 98 designs, which were a fond look back to the
styles of the dynamic 1960s.

"My mood
is dominated by the 1960s era. In the 1950s, everything was regular. You
wore gloves and a hat. But then, there was a revolt and a newfound
freedom. The glamor was also different," he said.

For him,
this freedom was reflected in simpler designs, with less decorative
elements, including his famous use of beads. He focused instead on the cut
and pattern, dominated by a prominent flower motif on soft chiffon.

Many of
his designs were cut below the breast and fanned out, not in the childlike
Mary Quant baby-doll style, but in long gowns with a tail detail or
flowing shawl.

A long
dress with a budding green flower motif, for example, was cut under the
bust, with the shoulder strap combined with a long shawl trailing the
steps of the wearer.

Broad
sleeves seamed to the back part of the dress formed something like
"wings", or what the designer termed his "Batman" look. An outsize ribbon
was added to the back part of another dress, creating an impression of
elegance and coquettishness.

Freedom
was also reflected in his bold design lines, such as in a long dress in
the style of the Javanese traditional breastcloth, with slits on the right
and left hips.

"I would
like to combine elegance and playfulness. The result will be something
with difference and character," he said.

Unlike
the rigid features of his usual bustier and ballgown designs, Sebastian's
new collection, while keeping to the glamor quotient, accommodated a more
relaxed design element resembling flapping wings.

"I like
dressing up a woman whose appearance will reflect glamor and beauty. She
dreams of being a diva but does not indulge herself in fantasizing herself
to be a film star on the silver screen. She makes this dream come true in
real life, on the red carpet," he said.

For many
of his guests, the most enticing items were the "ring gown" and the
"painting dress".

The
former is made of a series of rings of beads about the size of the circle
formed by our thumb and index finger; Sebastian called it his "Oreo" gown.

The rings
are arranged in such a way they make up a geometrically cut miniskirt that
fits closely to the body. Matched with a bangs hair-do and knee-high
boots, it could have been a vintage piece once worn by '60s supermodel
Twiggy.

It was at
once cute and fun but with the necessary glamor provided by all those
glittering beads.

Another
dress to impress was the painting gown. He did not create it with paint
and brush but by using different kinds of lace that formed a rustic
panorama of a mountain, grass, trees, clouds, even a house and a flock of
sheep.

He used a
patchwork technique similar to the naive painting style of folk artists,
the irony of this fresh departure from his usual gowns embellished with
embroidery, beads and sequins no doubt not lost on him.

For it is
those gorgeous gowns that have been his trademark since he opened his
studio in Harmoni, Central
Jakarta,
in 1992 with his Italian-born wife Cristina Panarese, also a graduate of
Milan's Instituto Artistico Dell' Abbigliamento Marangoni.

He
launched his debut collection in 1995, bringing the ballgown to the
Indonesian public and then gaining a new legion of clients when the
economic crisis that struck two years later led to well-heeled women
turning their attention to quality clothes made here.

Another
factor in his remarkable success is his hospitable, kind and easy-going
personality -- a PR dream -- and his ability to get along well with almost
everybody.

He has
proven beyond a doubt his expertise at making gowns, but some fashion
observers are looking for him to move on and show his skills in other
design areas.

"We hope
to see him design something other than his specialty of the long dress,"
said one fashion designer. "We also would like to see how Sebastian makes,
for example, an attractive suit. This will show him as an all-rounder."

It is a
point well taken in Sebastian Gunawan's development as a designer. Yet we
must also acknowledge and be proud of one of our compatriots who has made
his mark in fashion -- and done so with grace and respect for others.
(MB)